We know you loved SING! Here’s a new look at SING 2 which sees several stars from the first film return!

Synopsis:

This holiday season, the new chapter in Illumination’s smash animated franchise arrives with big dreams and spectacular hit songs as the ever-optimistic Buster Moon and his all-star cast of performers prepare to launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet …all in the glittering entertainment capital of the world. There’s just one hitch: They first have to persuade the world’s most reclusive rock star—played by global music icon Bono, in his animated film debut—to join them.

Buster (Oscar® winner Matthew McConaughey) has turned the New Moon Theater into a local hit, but Buster has his eyes on a bigger prize: Debuting a new show at the Crystal Tower Theater in glamorous Redshore City.

But with no connections, Buster and his cast—including harried mother Rosita (Oscar® winner Reese Witherspoon), rocker Ash (Scarlett Johansson), earnest Johnny (Taron Egerton), shy Meena (Tori Kelly) and, of course, provocateur Gunter (Nick Kroll)—have to sneak their way into the world-famous Crystal Entertainment offices, run by ruthless mogul Jimmy Crystal (Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale).

In a desperate attempt to get Mr. Crystal’s attention, Gunter spontaneously pitches an outrageous idea that Buster quickly runs with, promising that their new show will star rock legend Clay Calloway (Bono). Problem is, Buster has never met Clay, an artist who shut himself away from the world more than a decade ago after the loss of his wife. Even worse, Buster has failed to realize that Mr. Crystal is an egocentric gangster who would rather drop somebody off the roof of a building than be lied to.

As Gunter helps Buster dream up an out-of-this-world theatrical masterpiece, and the pressure (and sinister threats) from Mr. Crystal mount, Rosita’s leading role in the show gets ripped away and handed to Mr. Crystal’s spoiled daughter, Porsha, played by Grammy-nominated artist Halsey. Desperate to save the show, and his life, Buster embarks on a quest to find Clay and persuade him to return to the stage.

What begins as a dream of big-time success becomes an emotional reminder of the power of music to heal even the most broken heart.

Universal Pictures Canada release SING 2 December 22, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Hot off its momentum-building Festival Circuit run, Jane Campion‘s THE POWER OF THE DOG surfaces with a brand-new Trailer.

Synopsis:

Severe, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank is brutally beguiling. All of Phil’s romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife; he swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud. He is a cowboy as raw as his hides.The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her.
As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form – he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil’s cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?

THE POWER OF THE DOG is in select theatres on November 17, 2021 and on Netflix December 1, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

This brand-new Featurette from eagerly-awaited SCREAM, introducing us to the returning and new generation of characters tormented by Ghostface!

Synopsis:

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”), Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) and David Arquette (“Dewey Riley”) return to their iconic roles in Scream alongside Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar.

SCREAM is in theatres via Paramount Pictures Canada January 14, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

Starbucks Canada have just unveiled their 2021 Holiday Menu! While some of our favourites won’t be returning this year, we’re excited about these new festive Red Cups and Sugar Cookie Oat Latte!

NEW HOLIDAY BEVERAGE

Sugar Cookie Oat Latte

This non-dairy beverage features blonde espresso, sugar cookie syrup and oat beverage, topped with red and green sprinkles for a modern twist on a holiday classic. Available hot or iced.

NEW HOLIDAY CUPS

• Wrapping Paper: With a festive geometric pattern, this design harkens back to opening a perfectly wrapped gift with every sip.
• Ribbon: Lavender and white ribbons playfully dance around the cup, reminiscent of tying a bow on gifts for friends and family.
• Lights: This bold red cup features a string of lights swirling around the cup as the Starbucks wordmark stands out in all its holiday cheer.
• Candy Cane: Starbucks wordmark wraps around the cup in rows of green, lavender and white, evocative of the favourite striped seasonal candy.

RETURNING BEVERAGES AND FOOD

Caramel Brûlé Latte

Espresso, steamed milk and Caramel Brûlé sauce, topped with whipped cream and Caramel Brûlé topping. Available hot, iced, and as a Frappuccino® blended beverage.

Chestnut Praline Latte

Espresso, steamed milk and Chestnut Praline syrup, topped with whipped cream and Chestnut Praline topping. Available hot, iced, and as a Frappuccino® blended beverage.

Peppermint Mocha

Back for its 19th year, a holiday classic made with our signature espresso, steamed milk, sweet mocha sauce and peppermint flavoured syrup, topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. Available hot, iced, and as a Frappuccino® blended beverage.

Irish Cream Cold Brew

Starbucks® Cold Brew topped with Irish Cream Cold Foam and a strike of cocoa powder topping

Irish Cream Americano

The bold Americano begins with our rich, caramelly espresso and Irish Cream syrup, topped with hot water and steamed milk, and a subtle sprinkle of cocoa

Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop

A delightful treat with peppermint chocolate cake, white chocolaty coating and festive bits of crunchy candy cane pieces.

Gingerbread Loaf

Gently spiced gingerbread cake, topped with icing and a hint of orange.

Snowman Cookie

There might be a little magic in this buttery shortbread snowman cookie dressed up in white chocolatey icing.

Cranberry Bliss® Bar

A blondie cake base, topped with sweet cream cheese icing and tart dried cranberries, garnished with white orange drizzle. Also available for purchase by the tray.

We know you know how much we love our Starbucks and we want you to partake in the celebrations! We’re giving away $10 Starbucks Canada Gift Cards for you to enjoy some of these new Holiday offerings!

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet below or “like” this Post on our Instagram for an extra chance! Tell us in the comments on these channels, which item you’d like to try most! You should be following.

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The 2021 Starbucks Canada Holiday Menu is in stores Thursday, November 4, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Starbucks Canada)

Glenn Close and two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali star in SWAN SONG, coming soon to Apple TV+. Something truly affecting for the Holidays.

Synopsis:

Set in the near future, “Swan Song” is a powerful, emotional journey told through the eyes of Cameron (Mahershala Ali), a loving husband and father diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. As Cam grapples with whether or not to alter his family’s fate, he learns more about life and love than he ever imagined. “Swan Song” explores how far we will go, and how much we’re willing to sacrifice, to make a happier life for the people we love. 

SWAN SONG arrives on Apple TV+ December 17, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)

“Encanto” translates in Spanish to “charmed”, and Disney’s latest Animated Feature is set to do exactly that to audiences. Set in colourful Colombia, the Film co-directed by Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith. The former two partnered on Zootopia to raves, and ENCANTO features the Music of Hamilton mastermind, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Film centers on an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live in a magical house. Children in the town of Encanto each possess the power to heal, except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) who must find her own strength to be her family’s only hope, when she learns that the magic of the town might be in danger.

We had the joy of sitting in on the Press Junket with the Cast and Creators of ENCANTO, including:

We learned that Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Lin-Manuel Miranda had travelled together to Colombia in preparation for the Film. Howard talks about the inspiring experience.

Howard: “Lin has been with us on this journey from the beginning. It’s so rare to have your Songwriter with you for this experience. So when we went to Colombia with Lin and his dad Luis – whom we love – which was an amazing experience, I think we were just blown away learning about Colombia from people who we loved, people who are of Colombian heritage and sharing their families and that warmth and diversity. Colombia being this crossroads of music, of culture, of dance, of food, of tradition and this was an incredible moment for us. We were allover the place, we were in tiny little towns and huge cities, all of which have a different vibe. And we love that people from these places celebrate those specifics of their personalities and we looked at any way we could get that into the family. ”

“Playing-up those great contrasts, we came back really charged-up to get as much of Colombia as we could into this Film… and I almost fell off a cliff! But I lived!”.

Abuela Alma is one of the Film’s most integral characters and she’s played by Maria Cecilia Botero. Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about the inspiration behind her.

Miranda: “I don’t know if my dad was invited by Disney, or just sorta showed-up on the trip, it still remains a mystery. His experience and what he brought to the table actually wound up being invaluable. I remember him telling us a story about his grandmother in Puerto Rico and she had lots of kids, those kids got married and all stayed under the same roof. She ruled with such certainty that people would give their paycheques to her and she would re-allocate the wealth amongst the kids and the married couples and her children and grandchildren, and that was the kind of rule that wound-up informing Abuela Alma, who really loves her family dearly, but holds it super-tight. And that’s just where our story begins.”.

Botero: “She’s like the one whose strength is family, the one that keeps the family together, she’s like the force of the family. And I think I am too in my own family.”.

One of the centerpiece songs of ENCANTO is “Dos Oruguitas” (Two Caterpillars). The song happens to be the first song ever written entirely in Spanish by Miranda.

Miranda: “I think that being there from the beginning really allowed for more of a give and take than I’ve ever experienced on an Animated Film. There were songs where I put points on the board and said ‘Here’s our opening number!’, ‘Here’s how everyone’s related and what they can do!’, and I wrote that opening number before we had a Second or a Third Act to our Film, because we needed it for ourselves to keep track of everyone. Their names my change and their powers may change, but we know the audience is gonna need a guide and Mirabel is going to be our guide.”.

“Dos Oruguitas was inspired by some of the visuals coming-out of the Animation Department. And I loved the way they embodied the Miracle by having a flame from a candle turn into a butterfly, turn into a cascade of butterflies. Approaching this moment without spoilers, it’s a moment where we reveal a really personal part of the Madrigal family history and it didn’t feel right to have a character sing in real time, which is what all the other characters are doing over the course of the Movie. I thought we needed a Folk song, a song that feels like it’s always existed. Riffing-off the butterfly imagery I thought, butterflies have to go through a miracle to even become butterflies, and so I wrote this song about two caterpillars who are in love and are scared of letting each other go, but have to let each other go to become their next selves. It was a nature metaphor that already was baked-into the visuals of the Film, but speak so specifically to what this family is going through to see each other more fully in terms of you have to change to see each other get to the next level, and you have to allow yourselves to change.”.

“It isn’t harder to rhyme in Spanish, I just have a more limited vocab in Spanish, so I really had to reach for my Thesaurus and go outside my comfort zone to really try to write a song that feels like it’s always existed and I hope we accomplished this.”.

Colombian Author Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE serves as a great inspiration for ENCANTO and Co-Director/Writer Charise Castro Smith talks about this.

Smith: “We were definitely inspired by magical realism, by Gabriel García Márquez. I was reading 100 Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera and The House of Spirits, a lot of different magical realism, when I was starting to work on this Movie. The butterflies absolutely are an homage to him.”.

Stephanie Beatriz stars as Mirabel, and was eight months when working on the Film, singing some of the Film’s demanding musical numbers. As Miranda says, she was “carrying a miracle” in a Film about a miracle. She talks about what she brought to the role from her own personality.

Beatriz: “Awkwardness, my anxiety, and honestly my use of Comedy. When I’m uncomfortable and don’t know what to do, I often turn to making a joke out of it to make myself more comfortable, to make everyone else more comfortable. I think Comedy is really useful because it takes the air out of stuff. Everyone can be really tense and then you make a joke and then everyone relaxes. You can’t really laugh if you’re tense. Does that make sense? I think I tried to bring that to Mirabel. I like to improvise and I like jokes and I like making other people laugh. One of the highlights of my life was when Byron, Jared or Charise would laugh at something I would do!”.

“Once Mirabel starts to take-off on the adventure, there’s some funny stuff when she’s by herself when she’s trying to entertain herself. ‘Cause really what’s kinda crazy is in this huge family is that Mirabel is often alone and depending on herself. She kinda becomes her own sidekick and talks to herself a lot. I think a lot of that Improv wound-up making it into the Film.”.

Colombian-born John Leguizamo has been very vocal about inclusion and representation of the Latinx community in Film.

Leguizamo: “There’s a couple moments that hit me hard as a grown-ass man. It was when I saw all the colours, ’cause that’s how my family is in Colombia. Everyone can be really mad dark or light, with straight and super-curly hair. It looked like the way I grew-up and to see that, you just feel like ‘Oh my God, we’ve arrived!’. We as Latinx people have really arrived when there’s a Disney movie about you. And then to hear music from Colombia on-top of that, I can’t do this, it’s too much for me!”.

Some stills from the Press Junket:

Check back soon for our Review of Disney’s ENCANTO. ENCANTO is in theatres November 24, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

Netflix Canada and Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Passes to see RED NOTICE starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot! The Film opens November 4, 2021 at Paradise Theatre in Toronto. You can see the Movie any time during its run here. You and your guest also will receive complimentary popcorn!

Synopsis:

When an Interpol-issued Red Notice — the highest level warrant to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted— goes out, the FBI’s top profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is on the case. His global pursuit finds him smack dab in the middle of a daring heist where he’s forced to partner with the world’s greatest art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) in order to catch the world’s most wanted art thief, “The Bishop” (Gal Gadot). The high-flying adventure that ensues takes the trio around the world, across the dance floor, trapped in a secluded prison, into the jungle and, worst of all for them, constantly into each other’s company. The all star cast is joined by Ritu Arya and Chris Diamantopoulos. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence, Skyscraper) and produced by Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions, Beau Flynn’s Flynn Picture Co. and Thurber’s Bad Version, Inc., Red Notice is a stylish globe-trotting game of cat-and-mouse (and cat).

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK! Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet below for another chance.

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(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

A new THE SIMPSONS Short is coming to Disney+ in honour of Disney+ Day!

Synopsis:

From Creator Matt Groening and Developed by James L. Brooks and Sam Simon the longest-running primetime scripted show in television history, THE SIMPSONS exploded into a cultural phenomenon in 1990 and has remained one of the most groundbreaking and innovative entertainment franchises, recognizable throughout the world. Currently airing its record-annihilating 32^nd season, THE SIMPSONS has won 35 Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, 9 Environmental Media Awards, 7 People’s Choice Awards and 13 Writers Guild of America Awards. THE SIMPSONS was the first animated series to win a Peabody Award, and in 2019 received the Institutional Peabody Award.  It was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 for the theatrical short “The Longest Daycare.” This was followed by the theatrical short “Playdate with Destiny”(2020) and the Disney+ exclusive “The Force Awakens From Its Nap”(2021). The Simpsons Movie was a hit feature film, their mega-attraction The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios has received historic expansion updates with the addition of ‘Springfield’—winning a Thea Award in both 2009 and 2017. The show was honoured with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000. The Simpsons ongoing Tapped Out mobile game which launched in 2012 was a recipient of a Webby Award in 2018.   It has been named the “Best Show of the 20^th Century” by Time Magazine, called the “Greatest American Sitcom” by Entertainment Weekly in 2013, and declared “The Best TV Show Ever” in 2016 by vulture.com. On 10/2/21 a 10 minute Simpsons / Balenciega animated collaboration was the sensation of Paris fashion week. 

THE SIMPSONS’ PLUSAVERSARY arrives November 12, 2021 on Disney+.

(Photo/video credit: Disney+)

The Holidays are here and we love nothing more than binging FOOD NETWORK CANADA during the Holidays! Check-out some of their upcoming Programming offerings to inspire us! Season’s Eatings!

NEW SEASON The Big Bake: Holiday, Season 2 (6x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT  The Big Bake: Holiday is a larger-than-life baking competition series with themed episodes. In each episode, three professional baking teams have five hours to design, bake and decorate a grand-scale cake creation based on a particular theme. These bakers need to think big and bold, blowing up their designs to gigantic proportions and thinking outside the (bakery) box. In the end, the most ambitious, eye-popping and delicious cake will go home with a $10,000 prize.

NEW SEASON Holiday Baking Championship, Season 8 (3x120min & 5x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT The search to find the greatest holiday baker begins as eight amateur bakers enter the kitchen, where they show off their family traditions and superb baking skills. To survive the challenges from week to week, they must prove their abilities in front of our tough-love judges: Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller and Lorraine Pascale. Hosted by Jesse Palmer, this baking championship is the sweetest way to celebrate this holiday season.

NEW SEASON Holiday Wars, Season 3 (8x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Premieres Sunday, November 7 with back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET/PT. Beginning November 14, new episodes continue Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT Holiday Wars sees nine teams of masterful cake and sugar artists battle it out over eight one-hour episodes to create eye-popping and edible seasonal displays. Whether it is creating the perfect snowball fight, or bringing the story of an iconic caroling song to life in the most delicious way imaginable, these confectionary stars must lay it all on the line to impress host Maneet Chauhan and judges Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira.

NEW SEASON Christmas Cookie Challenge, Season 5 (8x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Premieres Sunday, November 14with back-to-back new episodes at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET/PT.  Beginning November 21 new episodes continue Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT Holiday cookies are more than mere sweets, they are also gifts and mementos of childhood and family celebrations. This holiday season, co-hosts Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson get audiences ready for the holidays with the return of Christmas Cookie Challenge. In each one-hour episode, five daring and confident cookie makers compete in two rounds to prove their holiday cookie-baking skills.

NEW SPECIAL Holiday Baking Championship: Gingerbread Showdown (5x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning November 15 Three teams of talented gingerbread artists face off in the new five-episode spin-off, Holiday Baking Championship: Gingerbread Showdown. Host Jesse Palmer brings audiences inside this festive world of gingerbread delights, as judges Nacho Aguirre, Kardea Brown, and Breegan Jane challenge the gingerbread teams in each standalone one-hour episode to embrace their holiday spirit.

NEW SEASON Buddy vs. Duff: Holiday, Season 4 (3x60min & 1x90min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT beginning November 28 Each episode features Buddy and Duff creating out-of-this-world cakes that perfectly celebrate the holiday season. With just 20 hours to work with their talented teams and bring their masterpieces to life, four esteemed pastry chefs join the teams at their bakeries each week to judge the cakes, including Gesine Prado and Elizabeth Falkner from Jersey City, and Stephanie Boswell and Valerie Gordon judging from Los Angeles.

NEW SPECIAL The Best Thing I Ever Ate Holiday Edition (1x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Thursday, December 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT The All-Star Best Thing I Ever Ate Holiday Edition is the ultimate guide to America’s most amazing holiday meals, eats and treats as told by the pros who spend their lives obsessing over food.

NEW SPECIAL Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays (1x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Monday, December 13 at 8p.m. ET/PT Kids Baking Championship: Light Up the Holidays features fan-favorites returning to the kitchen to make Holiday Candle Tsunami Cakes with a poured sugar flame. Host and judge Duff Goldman is joined by a special guest judge who will offer their unique perspective as a former contestant. In the end, the baker with the best cake will win.

NEW SPECIAL Holiday Wars: Champion Cake Off Special (1x60min) Canadian Broadcast Premiere Sunday, December 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT Host Maneet Chauhan challenges the reigning champions of Halloween Wars and Holiday Wars on Holiday Wars: Champion Cake Off. The two teams of cake and sugar artists must create their own team mascot and show how they will celebrate the New Year with a champagne-inspired cake flavor. Judges Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira determine which team of champions come out on top.

DAYTIME PROGRAMMING Some of Food Network’s most recognizable faces share holiday-themed instructional programming including new specials The Kitchen: Home for the Holidays and The Pioneer Woman: Holiday and reruns of favourites including Giada’s Holiday Handbook, Girl Meets Farm, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen and  Valerie’s Home Kitchen.

Five episode Mini-Series DOPESICK arrives on Disney+ right in time for Disney+ Day. Based on the Book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy, the Series by Danny Strong recounts the Opioid Crisis that began in the ’90s as Americans were misled down the path that a new-to-market prescription pain medication OxyContin. was not addictive with its delayed release. Subsequent to that, we see the impacts as doctors are incentivized to prescribe this to their patients, and then the impacts on communities with a surge in associated addictions and deaths.

Michael Keaton (who serves also as Executive Producer), stars as Dr. Samuel Finnix at the center of the story, who despite showing reluctance to embrace narcotics for pain, begins prescribing it to his patients. He then begins to question its safety and finds himself in a real dilemma of accountability. We fast-forward about ten years and meet two lawyers, Rick Mountcastle (Peter Sarsgaard) and Randy Ramseyer (John Hoogenakker) begin to launch an investigation into Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin after it leaves a trail of devastation among its users.

We also meet Bridget Meyer (Rosario Dawson), the highest-ranking woman at the Drug Enforcement Administration. The story cuts back in time as we see her marriage dissolve from a once-happy place. We witness her ordeal with sexism in her work, as Dawson delivers us a rich performance here. Most affecting is Betsy Mallum (Kaitlyn Dever) who really brings to life what it meant to be a promising young woman who worked in the mines, getting injured, coping with pain and then becoming addicted to OxyContin. Her battle halts her plans for a new beginning with her girlfriend, with her family being unsupportive of her being a Lesbian.

DOPESICK looks at an important issue which still impacts us today, but does it with a fresh lens and what it meant to those key players surrounding the crisis. Deeply-enthralling, DOPESICK is meant to be difficult to watch, meaning it has succeeded in its intentions.

Disney+ premieres DOPESICK November 12, 2021.